Reciprocating floor conveyors are used to facilitate removal of garbage and other bulk material from containers which are transported to a landfill or other receiving site. My U.S. Pat. No. 4,785,929, granted Nov. 22, 1988, and entitled, "Bearing System for Reciprocating Floor Conveyor," discloses a floor member and support bearing for a reciprocating floor conveyor that has been used in garbage collection containers. My U.S. Pat. No. 5,325,763 granted Jul. 5, 1994, and entitled, "Internal Check Valve," discloses a hydraulic drive assembly suitable for powering the reciprocating floor conveyor, and a desired sequence of operation.
Elongated seal strips that run the length of the floor members have been used to keep out debris and to keep material from sifting downwardly between the conveyor slats. My U.S. Pat. No. 4,896,761, granted Jan. 30, 1990, and entitled, "Reciprocating Conveyor Floor Members and Seals," discloses a side lip to protect the seal from abrasive debris which allows the floor members to be closely confronting and still retain a flexible seal to make the reciprocating floor conveyor effectively impervious. However, abrasive debris may still come into close proximity to the seals. It has been discovered that for some applications, the seals may need further protection from abrasive material.
A principal object of the present invention is to provide a unique floor slat member for a reciprocating floor conveyor, adapted so that in the conveyor each floor member overhangs a similar adjacent floor member and better protects the seals from abrasive particulate material.